List of U.S. aircraft gun pods

The idea of the gun pod as a concept largely came into its prime during and after World War II. So-called "package gun" installations on US medium and light bombers, such as the B-25 Mitchell and A-26 Invader, were probably the first such attempts by the United States military. One of the primary ideas was to provide additional suppression of ground defenses during attack runs, primarily while conducting maritime interdiction, and the extra armament gave the aircraft additional firepower.

With the rise of the missile in the post-WWII period many United States aircraft were produced without internal guns, but it was quickly found that guns were still needed both for air-to-air combat and close air support. Gun pods offered a simple means of giving aircraft this capability, with no weight penalty on missions where guns were not required.

The United States has developed a number of systems for use both on fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, and an overview is provided here.

Developed as a pod for high-speed fighter aircraft which lacked a gun, this pod was fitted with a single M61A1 20 mm cannon and 1,200 rounds of ammunition. This weapon is powered by a ram-air turbine, and fires at a fixed rate of 6,000 rpm. However, for this firing rate to be achieved the aircraft needs to fly over 300 mph (480 km/h), and the pod is designed to be optimal at speeds above 400 mph (640 km/h). Its weight, 1,650 lb (750 kg) loaded, also precludes it from many light aircraft.

The pod was designated XM12 (possibly standardized as M12) by the US Army and the same pod was designated SUU-16/A by the US Air Force. It was sometimes mounted on F-4 Phantom aircraft as a stopgap until internal-gun models entered service.

A pod developed, likely for helicopters, fitted with a single M75 40 mm grenade launcher. Some sources also mention this as a system tested on the JOV-1A Mohawk.

A pod developed for both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, fitted with a single M3 .50 caliber machine gun. The pod carried 750 rounds of ammunition and provided a pneumatic charging system for the weapon. This system was used on the JOV-1A and UH-1 series of helicopters.

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